Denver Nuggets: What does Michael Porter Jr.’s encouragement towards an extension mean?

Michael Porter Jr. is encouraged by the extension talks with the Denver Nuggets, but we’re yet to see any terms or a signature on the dotted line.

Mike Singer, The Denver Post recently reported that Porter Jr. and his camp are pleased with where the contract negotiations are at:

"“Everything is sounding great, in the direction that I’d like to be headed. Nothing is set in stone, but everything is going smooth as far as that goes.“One thing about Mark (Bartelstein) – something probably could’ve been done already but Mark is the best in the business. I told him, ‘Take your time, do your thing. I’m in no rush, I’m in grindmode. I’m not stressed about it. I’m just in the gym, and whenever you’ve got some news for me, hit me up.’”"

While the quote is incredible news for Nuggets fans and MPJ says he talks with Bartelstein every day, why is the contract taking so long?

I wrote last week that one of the possible delays is that Tim Connelly is hoping to cut back on costs, add in some injury protections in the MPJ deal. This would be less than preferable for the Missouri product, but at the end of the day, the team has most of the power in any rookie extensions.

Additionally, Singer, The Denver Post reported not long after the Denver Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs that Connelly was eager to get a contract extension done, saying that it has been the team’s MO to sign players early.

This has been in line with all of Connelly’s moves thus far, giving Jamal Murray his max a season earlier than he had to, signing Nikola Jokic as fast as possible, and several other smaller moves like Monte Morris‘ new deal. If this Nuggets front office doesn’t want to re-sign the player, they’ve usually moved on from the player before it gets to that stage (Kenneth Faried, Juancho Hernangomez, Malik Beasley).

The best part about the recent report is that it came from Michael Porter Jr. and his camp. It means MPJ is committed to staying in Denver and as he says, he’s just working on his game right now and letting the contract work itself out.

With the rookie extension deadline a week before the start of the season, on 18 Oct. 2021, we’ve still got plenty of time to see a new deal get done.

What will Michael Porter Jr.’s new deal with the Denver Nuggets look like?

Michael Porter Jr. deserves a max contract extension. Yes, he’s the third option on offense when this team is at full strength, but he’s only 23-years-old and is in line for a huge 2021-22 season.

In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 31.3 minutes over 61 games.

With Jamal sidelined next season for what could be an entire season, MPJ will be jumping up in the pecking order, taking the second option behind Jokic.

If he can make significant strides on the defensive end, he’ll be one of the best young players in the entire league. At the moment, he’s a prolific scorer who torches opponents while also getting torched (as we saw in the Phoenix Suns series).

If MPJ doesn’t grow at all, then maybe he’s not worth his max and it’ll hamstring the Denver Nuggets’ flexibility for no good reason. If he does grow (a very likely outcome), this team is well on its way to being a title contender with three bona fide stars.

Expect this contract to get done before the season starts and it to be a maximum extension with some heavy injury protections.